Nats fall to Cubs 7-2 OR A sorry (Sori) night

What a gorgeous night for a loss. The weather was absolutely ideal for baseball last night. Very pretty, VERY low humidity, mild temperature - heck, it even got a little chilly before the game ended, with a light breeze. As a lifelong D.C.-area resident, I can tell you that this wasn't a typical July 2nd meteorologically-speaking. It sure made the 7-2 loss a little easier to take.

This game got out of hand early. The Nats were behind 2-0 before they even came to bat, and they were tailing 7-0 before they even got their first hit.

The only "Theodore Roosevelt" who enjoyed a win last night was not the "Rushmore Four's" racing president, but rather Cubs starter, Theodore Roosevelt Lilly, who had a no-hitter going into the 5th. Every ball the Nats hit seemed to go right to a Cubs infielder, it was just terrible. The early innings seemed to last forever, too, but the later innings went by quickly. The game ended pretty much on time.

Nats starter Jason Simontacchi didn't have his best night. He allowed 5 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk in his 3 innings of work. He threw 38 strikes on 59 pitches, but his control didn't seem to be there. He was a little wild, hitting the Cubs Derek Lee in the back in the 1st inning.

Ryan Report: Church went 0 for 4, Zimmerman went 2 for 4 with a double, Langerhans did not play, and Austin Ryan Kearns went 1 for 4 with an R.B.I.

Dmitri Young, our new All-Star, went 0 for 4.

It was bittersweet to see #12 for the Cubs, Alphonso Soriano, the Nationals 2006 All-Star left-fielder, wearing Cubs road gray. He was all over the place, stealing bases, getting base hits. I cheered him when he came to bat, though. He's a good guy, and he's liked and respected around the Nats clubhouse. The memories he gave me in 2006 will be treasured for the rest of my life. Thomas Boswell wrote a pretty nice column about Soriano and the Nats today, a good read.

One thing that Boswell wrote that I've been feeling for several games now, is how the loss of Cristian Guzman seemed to take the wind right out of their sales. They just seem deflated. Of course, Boswell put it better than I did, writing, "Ever since Guzman was lost for the season eight days ago, the air seems to have left the team just as losses -- 12 in 16 games -- have again begun to mount." I don't think that the Nats have managed to get more than 3 runs in a game since that happened.

As a result of this, I've been pretty depressed about the state of the team, watching them struggle hasn't been any fun. To lump insult onto injury, one of our best pitchers, Micah Bowie, went onto the 15-day D/L with hip inflammation, so the Nats have had to call up Tim Redding from AAA Columbus to start tonight.

I was fortunate to get off of work early yesterday and make it to the park in time to get some Attman's beef brisket (a little chage up for me) and meet my friend Myron. Howard was back vending again, and I had to hit him up for a beer earlier than I usually do. I sure needed it. Good crowd for a Monday, almost 25,000. The Cubs are always a draw.

I'll be out there tonight. I'll be out there for every game. It's who I am, it's what I do. I never give up hope, but my faith sure gets tested a bit.